Friday, April 1st. Broadcast advertising was confronted with a major downsizing on this date in 1970 as President Nixon signed a bill into law prohibiting cigarette advertising on the nation’s airwaves. The ban went into effect on January 1 of the following year — the first major step in the ongoing debate over the public health risk of smoking. Until then, names such as Lucky Strike, Chesterfield and Philip Morris had sponsored some of the most famous shows since the earliest days of broadcasting. In 1970, U.S. tobacco firms made more than 560 billion cigarettes. Today, there remain 29 cigarette product manufacturing establishments employing around 7,300 people, and with annual shipments valued at over $31 billion. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, April 2nd. Sometimes, tastes seem to go in great cycles. For example, in 19th century America, local coffeehouses, which roasted their own beans, ruled. Then, in 1900, Hills Brothers started packing roasted, ground coffee in vacuum tins. In the next several years, instant and decaffeinated coffees were developed. In a move to return to fresh-roasted whole bean coffee, the first Starbucks opened in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market this week in 1971. Borrowing from Italian practice, the chain added espresso, latte and mocha. Public acceptance ramped up in these past 45 years, and now the firm has more than 22,000 stores in some 65 countries, with over 10,000 in the U.S. That’s something over half of the 19,500 coffee shops across America. Profile America is completing its19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sunday, April 2nd. Critics of federal spending initiatives often allude with some disdain to the government’s ability to create money. It’s pure coincidence, though, that the first federal building commissioned under the country’s new constitution was intended to do just that. On this date in 1792, President George Washington and Congress established the National Mint in the then capital city of Philadelphia. The mint issued the gold, silver and copper coinage as the legal tender of the young republic. Since building the mint at 7th and Arch Streets, the government moved to Washington and raised many more buildings — a process that continues. In November of last year alone, federal office construction was valued at $2¼ billion out of total federal construction worth more than $24 billion. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the ‘America’s Economy’ mobile application at <www.census.gov/mobile>.